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Highly Skilled Migrant Requirements in the Netherlands: The Recognised Sponsor, the Salary Criteria, and the Steps for Filipinos

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By iStart Editorial Team·Published October 21, 2026

Highly Skilled Migrant Requirements in the Netherlands: The Recognised Sponsor, the Salary Criteria, and the Steps for Filipinos

A Dutch company has told you it wants you, and one word keeps coming up: sponsor. In the Netherlands the employer applies for you, but only if the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has recognised it and the salary meets a floor that resets every year.

Who applies for a highly skilled migrant permit

You migrate to the Netherlands on this route through your employer, not on your own. To start working there as a highly skilled migrant you need a residence permit, and "only an employer recognised by the IND can apply for your permit," the IND says.

The same application covers your entry visa, the MVV, and the residence permit. In 2026 it costs €423, which your employer pays. The job needs no separate work permit; a second job for another employer does.

Check the company on the public register first

The IND's public register lets anyone check whether a company is a recognised sponsor. It lists each one with its Chamber of Commerce (KVK) number and is updated monthly, most recently on 5 October 2026. Search the company's legal name before you sign.

An unrecognised employer cannot apply for you, so anyone selling "guaranteed sponsorship" is selling something the rules do not offer. Walk away, and read up on checking a recruiter's licence before you pay anyone.

The 2026 salary criteria: a threshold, not a promise

The IND resets the salary criteria every 1 January; the one in force on the application date counts. For 2026, gross per month:

  • 30 years or older: €5,942
  • younger than 30: €4,357
  • the reduced criterion: €3,122, only in three listed cases tied to a recent graduation, doctorate or research period

Holiday allowance does not count, and gross means before tax. This is the least the employer must pay, not what you will earn; the salary must also match the market rate, "what people in the same job earn on average."

The requirements and your steps

The requirements are an employment contract with a recognised sponsor, a salary meeting the criterion and the market rate, a valid passport, and the antecedents certificate every applicant over 12 completes. Healthcare professionals covered by the Dutch BIG Act must also be in the BIG register.

Four steps for a Filipino highly skilled migrant to the Netherlands, in order: documents with a DFA apostille, the decision due within 90 days, the MVV visa sticker, and the duties after arrival. Only an employer recognised by the IND can apply.

  1. Gather the documents you are asked for. Philippine documents need a DFA apostille; English ones need no translation, NetherlandsWorldwide says. If your degree is on the list, see how credential recognition works abroad.
  2. The decision is due within 90 days, a period that can be extended.
  3. After approval, book your MVV visa sticker within three months, at the Dutch embassy in Manila if your approval letter names it, with a passport valid for at least six more months. On arrival you may start working before your residence document is ready, if the positive decision says so.
  4. Then take a TB test at the municipal health service within three months of getting the permit (Filipinos are not exempt), register with the municipality using your apostilled birth certificate, and get Dutch health insurance within four months of arrival.

Before you leave, see the documents a worker needs before departure.

Changing jobs, family and the long view

Your permit runs for the length of your contract, up to five years. If the job ends, you have up to three months to find a new one; if you lose it on or after 22 May 2026 after two or more years on the permit, up to six months, which the IND also gives victims of labour exploitation. Your employer can apply for your partner and children with you. As the employee, your legal duty is to keep the IND informed of changes.

The salary bar is not cleared once: it applies again whenever you change employer, and a change of employer after you turn 30 means the higher amount, unless you are on the reduced criterion. What lasts is building skills a recognised employer pays that level for, role after role. Start with the CV employers abroad expect.

Before You Sign a Dutch Offer

  • The company is on the public register of recognised sponsors.
  • The gross monthly salary meets your 2026 criterion, holiday allowance excluded.
  • Your birth certificate has its DFA apostille.
  • Nobody has asked you for money to "arrange" a sponsor.

The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most

Can I change jobs on a highly skilled migrant permit? Yes, to another recognised sponsor, at the salary criterion in force on the day the new contract starts.

Can I get permanent residence (PR) in the Netherlands? After five consecutive years on a valid Dutch permit you can apply, the IND says, if you also meet its other conditions, including main residence here throughout, sufficient income, and the civic integration exam passed at level A2 or higher, or an exemption.

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